Triangle has built proven packaging machinery since 1923, so we understand the value of longevity, craftsmanship and continuous innovation. But when two companies with more than 200 years of combined manufacturing excellence come together, something truly special happens.
At Triangle Package Machinery Co., we measure our success by the transformations we create on our partners' production floors. One of the best examples of that kind of transformation is our partnership with Chelsea Milling Company, the family-owned grain and milling company behind the iconic “JIFFY” Mix.
Over the last five years, Triangle has worked together with the team at Chelsea Milling on a full-scale packaging modernization project that has reshaped the future of both Chelsea and JIFFY Mix and its loyal fans.
given the company’s long history. Organizationally, Chelsea moved from legacy packaging equipment from the1940s and 1950s that had served them for decades, to the modern, high-performance VFFS systems we design and engineer at our Chicago headquarters today.
But this project wasn't just an equipment upgrade; it represented a fundamental shift in manufacturing capability and a massive jump in technology for a company with over 120 years of milling tradition. However, for a heritage brand like Chelsea Milling, making this kind of change requires careful consideration, as Howard Holmes, President & CEO, shared with us:
“It’s scary. You depend on your legacy manufacturing equipment for 95 plus years. And at the same time, it’s very telling how consistent and reliable it is to depend on it for that long, right?
“But we encountered the reality that if we want to take the steps forward, we know we’re capable of taking, we have to modernize our equipment,” Holmes said. “And so, it forced us to be very particular with what we wanted to do, because keeping that packaging as consistent and iconic as it has been isn’t as simple as just going and partnering with anybody. You’ve got to find the right partner.”
And that’s where Triangle comes into the picture. Being able to rely on our family-owned business was just what Chelsea Milling needed to make the jump from legacy to leading-edge bagging equipment in their production facility in Chelsea, MI while retaining consistency in their product.
“From a company standpoint, we really focused on reliability and longevity given the amount of time our current equipment has been in operation and trying to couple that with innovation and efficiency,” said Justin Hubbard, Senior Project Manager at Chelsea Milling who oversaw this modernization effort.
We were able to install 18 total VFFS baggers that have helped them do just that.
But reliable equipment is only one part of the equation. Finding partners who can deliver consistency and accountability from a deliverable standpoint on the production floor was essential to what Chelsea Milling needed. As it turns out, consistency and reliability is what we strive to provide every day. Our equipment isn't just faster or more advanced than other VFFS solutions on the market, it's reliable. It performs predictably, shift after shift, allowing their team to plan, forecast, and execute with confidence.
That consistency matters when you're managing a modern production facility. It means fewer surprises, less downtime, and the ability to commit to customers knowing your equipment will deliver. And perhaps some of that accountability comes from our family-owned roots, much like Chelsea Milling.
As Howard shared with us:
“Family businesses certainly are unique in the sense that I think they have a set of characteristics that maybe larger non-family businesses generally don’t have, and a big component of that is compassion. You work with family members, you work with kin that require more than just your friendliness around the office, your family. And what comes from that is, I think, a level of compassion that has to exist day in and day out. And what I think that we try and find ourselves working with other family businesses primarily because we want that compassion, not just for working with people, but the products they make. Triangle has been fabulous to work with.”
When you work with Triangle, you aren’t just working with someone who delivers a product. You’re working with a partner who genuinely cares.
What makes us proud about our relationship with Chelsea Milling isn't just the technology we've installed, it's the transformation we've enabled together. When two companies with this much manufacturing history come together, there's a mutual understanding of what it takes to build something that lasts. Their willingness to embrace new technology, combined with our commitment to delivering equipment that performs year after year, has created a partnership built on mutual success.
They needed more agility, more horsepower, and more output from their manufacturing floor. We delivered the packaging solutions that made it possible. That's the kind of partnership we're committed to building with every client—one where our success is measured by their growth.
When Chelsea Milling looks at their production floor today versus where they were with equipment from the 1940s and 50s, they see a fundamental transformation. But we see a partner who trusted us—trusted our century-long track record of building reliable equipment—to help them leap forward. It's a relationship that continues to deliver value every day, built on a foundation of shared values: quality, reliability and continuous improvement.
That's what true partnership looks like when two established manufacturers work together, and we're honored to be part of Chelsea Milling's ongoing story.
Are you ready to start your next chapter? How about a packaging modernization project of your own?
Reach out to us and share your packaging challenges with a partner who cares.